Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
by Jamie-Bass
Summary: Tekashi was happy with his life, nothing more than an occasional belly ache to bother him... then he has to deal with a past that most envy but he hates. Please R&R. I want to try to submit it to the Times and any help would be appreciated!


It was another lazy day for Tekashi. He opened his eyes and closed his eyes several times, adjusting to the light while he tried to remember where he was exactly. The previous night had been nice. All the stars had been shinning brightly above him and the air around him had been warm. It had been very late when he had decided to stumble towards the Money Tree to see if he could pick up any food. 'I must have fallen asleep there,' he thought, fact that was confirmed as soon as he could see things normally once more. The gray Kougra streched his limps slightly before getting up and giving a small test roar. The noise loosened up some of the treasures that the Tree held. A piece of Green Pepper Omelette fell on his head with a satisfying splat. Wiping it off he hungrily stuffed it into his mouth. Ever since he had escaped the pound months earlier his tummy rumbled constantly. He was often visiting the soup kitchen and well known spots where he could get some food, but on certain days he forgot. However, for all his problems with stomach aches he was pretty happy with his poverty. He'd amuse himself by going to the market and looking at all the rich pets with their owners and realize just how lucky he was.

He couldn't remember the owner that had left him in the pound, nor the life that he lived with him (or her) but he was pretty sure that he'd been rich at some point. He remembered not being a nice pet, wanting things always. And that was what he saw in rich pets. Greed. Well, not all of them. Some stayed sweet as ever, but an alarming amount of them always wanted something else. And they always seemed so tired. Though from what, he couldn't say.

After finishing his meal in the shade of the Tree he decided to stroll around the shops in Neopia Central. His first stop would be the Post Office, as usual. He liked going there because the walls were covered with different notices. Want Ads for the Pant Devil, articles proclaiming different heros, breaking news, funny items. He could spend hours reading and never get bored because of the wide varity of subjects that covered the otherwise boring wall. When he got there, however, he couldn't get into the building. He found this strange, for the Post Office hardly had more than one or two buyers in it at a time. Getting close to a blue Lupe who was looking over the scene with amusement he whispered his question.

"What's going on here?"

The Lupe sniggered. "Some article's gone up. Somehow they got it before the Times could publish it, so everyone's making a fuss to read it."

Tekashi looked at the group with confusion. "Why don't they just wait for the Times to come out then? It can't be that far off."

"Oh. Because apparently some big guy disappeared and they can't wait another second to find out what happened. He was a billionaire and now the search for his heir is on. They're all anxious to see who it can be." The Lupe rolled his eyes at the congrated group and turned to leave. "It's probably some hoax," he called over his shoulder.

Tekashi spent a few more minutes staring at the group in awe. Pets and owners alike were shoving and fighting to get the wall. The shop owner had a look between pleased and scared. Snarls and cries of other kinds could be heard emerging from the group. And some of the pets walking away looked like they had just lost a serious round at the Battledome. He started walking away, considering what his next plan of action would be when a young Blumaroo approached him.

"Here sir," he said as he extended a copy of the Neopian Times to him.

"Uhm. I don't have any NeoPoints at the moment. Sorry."

The Blumaroo gave him a weird look before replying. "Sir. The Neopian Times is a free paper. Take it." And with a small shove into his arm the Blumaroo left him. As soon as the group from the Post Office saw him they left the old building to get their very own copy of the article. Tekashi returned to his resting spot beneath the Money Tree and opened his newspaper, eyes searching for the famous article. It wasn't hard. Right in the middle of the paper, bold lettering everywhere, the headline "Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow" stood out for attention. His eyes quickly scanned the article for some interesting information.

_"It was a tragic evening for Neopian society last night, when Mr. King McRich (originally known as_

_Sverr Roaring. Mr McRich changed his name circa Y6) didn't return to his Mystery Island Mansion after three days of disapperance. His elderly gardener, Mr. Jack Green, reported his absense when he realized that his master wasn't going out for his usual shopping sprees every hour. After confering with the housekeeper it was indeed confirmed that there had been no trace of the elderly Kougra for days. Ms. Emelia Trix, Mr. McRich's Ixi hurridly told the papers this morning that: 'Last time I've seen 'im he was going to see the Snowager. He goes every morning without fail. Oh. I sure hope he's okay.' When asked why she didn't report his disapperance earlier Ms. Trix replied: 'Oh. He's such a quiet fellow. I hardly ever see him. He's out of home a lot, too. Always stocking up on shops or searching for rare treasures. He also visits the pound on ocassions. But when Ol' Jack asked me about him I checked his room and sure enough no one had slept there. And I distinctly remember that the last time I made that bed was four days ago. That's how I know he's gone missing. He'd never make that bed himself."_

_Further investigation at the Ice Caves showed that McRich had indeed been there, for his belongings_

_were scattered amongst the other treasures from the Snowager's pile. Authorities are still searching_

_for the billionaire but one investigator told this reporter: 'We don't have much hope_

_in finding him, to tell ya the truth. All we know is that something happened at the Snowager's cave, which leads to some negative things, I'll tell ya. Or maybe the old man got tired and left. Maybe we'll never know. Right now we have more hopes of finding his heir, that's where the investigation is headed, really.'_

_Mr. King McRich however has no known heir – or so was thought – for the elderly Kougra lived with no one but his housekeeper and gardener. He had very few friends and his only sibling, Silvilina Roaring, was exiled from Neopia for unknown reasons back in Y5, making her uneligable for his inheritance. All his earnings stood to be donated to The Money Tree and several other worthy charities upon the discovery that there was in fact another family member waiting in line. _

_Ms. Roaring apparently had a son shortly before her mysterious exile. This darling white Kougra nephew was put in Mr. McRich's care after his mother was forced to leave Neopia. Mr.Rich was very fond of this nephew and provided the best training and books for him. A year later, however, a blotched kidnapping attempt resulted in the pounding of this darling nephew. A brief interview with the Adoption Center Techo reveled that: "He most probably doesn't remember anything. When a pet is admited into the adoption center they go through a proccess that help them block memories of their previous lives. This is done so that they can move on with their new owners and live happy, fufilling lives. However, this proccess is partial. His memory can be jogged by something... anything. An item, pet, name and he'll remember his previous life. Until that happens it's highly unlikely he'll return on his own. It's unlikely even then. I happen to remember the young Kougra in question. Handsome Kougra he was. And he was a bright one. Too bad he comes from such an unlucky family." The Neopian Times has found that a few months after the nephew was pounded he ran away and his uncle's hopes of finding him once more were dashed. _

_If he is found the nephew is bound to inherit all of Mr. King McRich's estate, including all his bank accounts (which we are told ammount to more than a billion NeoPoints), possesion of his size 20 store, his Mystery Island Mansion, pet pets, and all items in his gallery as well as his safety deposit box_.

_Is this lucky fellow crusing the streets of Neopia at the moment? Does he have any knowledge of his previous life? Search parties have been sent out to look for him. The young Kougra was painted white when he was last seen, he is approximatly 200 days old, level 15 and his name is Tekashi. If you happen to have any information on him the authorities are holding a help desk to aid his search in the Post Office, and would highly appreciate any help that could be provided. _

_The disapperance of the old billionaire is rising many questions. Hopes for his well being are everywhere. But even more curiosity surrounds the issue of this lost nephew. Is he okay? Has he been adopted? Is he roaming the streets at this very moment? Is he still the brilliant white young Kougra he was once? Most importantly, where is Tekashi now?"_


End file.
